Why is Venus so extreemly bright in the sky now (spring)?

Answer 1

1) It's big (for the inner solar system), almost as large as the Earth

2) It's shiny, the entire planet is covered in clouds

3) It's closer to the Sun, being 40% closer means sunlight has twice as much power there


Venus is full when furthest, and gets thinner and thinner the closer it comes, making the distance from Earth not matter with brightness very much. In fact, when Venus is nearest Venus it's only a hairline thin crescent.

It's just easier to see when the sky is dark (which can only happen when angularly far from the sun).

At the end of January 2009, Venus is better placed for midnorthern viewers than at any other time since 2001.


The Earth seen from Venus is even brighter - when Earth is closest it appears full with a telescope, yet is just small enough to still look like a star.

Answer 2

Venus' brightness is strongly affected by its distance from the earth and the angle between it and the sun. The maximum brightness occurs close to maximum elongation, when as much as possible of Venus, as seen from earth, is illuminated by sunlight.

Answer 3

Venus has phases like the moon and will be brighter when it is a "full" Venus like a full moon. It also has an orbit that periodically takes it closer to the earth. When it is closer, it is obviously brighter. It takes less time to orbit the sun so it shouldn't correspond to any season on Earth.